For BRIDES, by Jillian Kramer.
For the most part, wedding guests are simply happy to be a part of your big day. But it turns out, they’ve got a few pet peeves when it comes to weddings. Here are five things guests hate most about weddings, from real wedding guests.
Delayed Receptions
”I have been to my fair share of weddings and love being a part of their special days. But with that said, I absolutely hate delayed receptions — the ones where you get there and no beverages or food are served for more than an hour. Especially if children are invited, there should be activities to keep them busy or else you end up with a room full of hungry guests and bored kids running around.” — Crystal
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Lack of Planning
”Every wedding I’ve attended has been a wonderful celebration filled with laughter, love, tears, and lots of dancing, which makes for a great party every time. But even though every one has been a blast, a couple weddings I’ve attended had some rough starts and the cause usually started with the planning — or lack of planning — that went into communicating with the guests. My one piece of advice as a guest is think about the best way to stay in communication with all of your guests as the wedding progresses, because something almost always changes last minute. We as guests want to make sure we’re bringing our A-games to your big day!” — Jessica
No Microphones at the Ceremony
”I understand that a lot of guests look forward to weddings for the free food and booze. But not me. I’m in it for the ceremony. What can I say? I’m a big sap. So my biggest pet peeve as a wedding guest is when couples don’t consider whether their guests can actually hear them during the ceremony. If you don’t use a microphone, chances are we won’t hear anything that’s happening. And instead of sharing the moment along with you, we’ll just be stuck twiddling our thumbs.” — Anna
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The Bride Venting About Her Wedding (At the Wedding)
”I just went to a wedding in which the bride sat down at our table to say hello and just launched into this very long speech about how tough wedding planning was and how she wished she had just eloped. When she got up from our table and moved to the next, I heard her give the same spiel to another guest. I get that she was probably just stressed from it all and needed to vent. But as a guest, it made me feel pretty uncomfortable. Your wedding is a happy occasion, but it’s pretty difficult to see it that way when you spend the whole reception complaining about how miserable it was to get there.” — Marianne
Cash Bar
”Cash bars. I understand that not everyone has the budget for an open, full bar. That’s OK. But in that case, try to offer a limited bar, such as just beer and wine. Guests will really appreciate it — especially the ones who have traveled or had significant expenses in order to come to your wedding.” — Jennifer
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